Pastor Maldonado has had a difficult season with Lotus in 2014, leading many to speculate whether the Venezualan would be able to keep his ride if he lost his financial backing. (Photo: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic)

Pastor Maldonado has denied suggestions that his PDVSA backing is under threat, after Venezuela’s sports minister said that there would be no more support for the country’s racing drivers.

Maldonado insisted that Antonio Alvarez had nothing to do with PDVSA’s sponsorship of Lotus.

MotoGP™ rookie Pol Espargaro produced a strong performance at the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team’s home Grand Prix in Le Mans, finishing in fourth position for his best result yet in the premier class.

The reigning Moto2™ World Champion qualified on the front row of the grid in second at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France and, as the lights turned to green on Sunday, he made a good start to cross the line inside the leading pack for the first lap.